Project Thailand 2008
When: Sunday August 31 – Friday September 12
Location: Ban-Nong-Tong-Lim School, Nangrong District, Bureerum, Thailand
Project Leaders:
Potay Parapiboon: potay ‘at’ stanford.edu
Fern Jira: fernjira ‘at’ stanford.edu
Water shortage and sanitation problems are prevalent in the northeastern part of Thailand. One of the many schools afflicted by such problems is Ban-Nong-Tong-Lim School. We hope to ameliorate the situation there, and use this school as a representative model that other schools in the region facing similar problems can emulate.
Problems
- No sanitary water supply for students in the school.
- Rain is the main source of drinking water for people in the village. However, the rain spouts and storage tanks at the school are old and in a poor condition. In fact, because they are situated in an open area, birds and pigeons often excrete into the tanks.
- Currently, there is no tap water system in place. All the school has are storage tanks for water drawn from artesian wells. The water is supposed to be distributed throughout the school. However, the tanks are not high enough, and the pumping system is not sufficiently powerful for that to happen.
- As a result, students have to bring drinking water from home, or buy soda at school, incurring unnecessary expenses and inconvenience.
Local Partner
The Population and Community Development Association (PDA), one of Thailand’s largest non-profit organizations, will support and facilitate our work and logistics on the site. They will also ensure the sustainability of our project.
We will also work closely with the Youth Government group, a group of college students passionate about pokies games online addressing social problems.
Objectives
For the community:
- Address the water shortage and sanitation problems at Ban-Nong-Tong-Lim school
- Create awareness of the issue and impart knowledge of water sanitation and conservation to the community
For the Youth Government:
- Develop leadership skills for members of the Youth Government and equip them with necessary knowledge and skills to carry on the project once we leave
For SEALNet members:
- Fully engage participants in all aspects of the project
- Foster a service mindset, and allow participants to grow personally and learn valuable lessons from creating positive impact on the community
Approaches
Service:
- The SEALNet team will raise funds to buy new rain gutter, water filter and water storage tanks for the school. We also hope to introduce water filters for use in households.
- Introduce mini-projects to engage students in the conservation of water and energy. Projects can range from games, competition, creation of simple inventions that are applicable to the local needs and serve our purpose.
- With help of PDA, our “green school” will serve as a model for other schools plagued by similar problems in the area.
Leadership with students in the school:
- Sanitation education: Through media and group activities, we will educate students on basic sanitation as well as conservation of water and other natural resources
- Community Service Day: Allow students and project participants to work together to create concrete impact on the community
Youth Government:
- Leadership Workshops: We will organize leadership workshops for the Youth Government. The goal is to develop their public speaking, communication, and problem solving skills.
- Leadership at work: We hope to work closely with the Youth Government in every aspect of the project to let them apply and hone their leadership skills.
Skills needed
- A strong desire to better the community and an interest in Thailand
- Knowledge of water sanitation/water management is a plus, but not required